United States: unsecured dollars

The United States relies on the rest of the world to finance its public and private debts. But the markets worry about the unsustainable imbalances. The US may not be able to support its wild military spending much longer.

by Frederic F Clairmont

UNITED States military spending, at roughly $400bn annually, now rivals the combined total military expenditure of all other major nations. But cracks in the US financial system are raising questions about the continuation of funding at this level. Since the 1990s, the US, which likes to see (...)